Tag Archives: Celebration Anaheim

Welcome everyone to the ninth edition of VSWC Blog Full-Length Collector Interviews! It has been a while since we published our last one, featuring friend of the blog Stephane Faucourt, but we have finally gotten our butts into gear to get these rolling along again. They really are the life-blood of the blog and are definitely the most enjoyable and fulfilling for me to put-together.

I’m pumped to welcome long-time collector and ‘Plastic Galaxy’ star Bobby Sharp onto the blog. I met Bobby at Celebration Anaheim, we exchanged swag and he was kind enough to take me up on my interview offer. Bet he didn’t think it would take over a year…But it’s finally happening and it is well-worth the wait. Not only is Bobby one of the most experienced and knowledgeable collectors in our hobby but he is also intelligent, articulate, helpful to other collectors and bloody funny.

Enjoy!

1: Hi Bobby and thanks for agreeing to this interview!

BOBBY: You got it! I’m happy to contribute to your blog.

2: It was great to meet you in Anaheim and I’m really excited to have you on the blog. You know that I go by the name ‘Bobby Bobs’ on some forums and in the Facebook groups, well I’ve actually been mistaken for you a couple of times funnily enough. So how does it feel to be the second best looking ‘Bobby’ in our hobby?

BOBBY: Well, I suppose everyone has their own burdens to bear. Just think about the poor sap who has to be the third best looking ‘Bobby’ in the hobby.

3: Haha! Well, now that we’ve dealt with the most pressing issue, I’m sure our readers would love to get to know a bit about you. So first off where are you based?

BOBBY: I live in Olmsted Falls which is a suburb of Cleveland in northeastern Ohio.

VSWC: Is that where you grew up?

BOBBY: Close. I grew up in a nearby suburb called North Olmsted. I’ve lived in a few other places over the years, but when it came time to put down real roots, I ended up pretty close to home.

VSWC: What was it like growing up there?

BOBBY: It was great. North Olmsted was a pretty typical American suburb. It’s basically a sprawling shopping mall with a bunch of 60s and 70s housing developments sprinkled around it. It was pretty safe, and for a kid there were plenty of things to do. Being located close to Cleveland, I was also in proximity to a larger city which certainly has its benefits.

4: I’ve seen a few photos of your beautiful family on Facebook. Can you tell us a little bit about them?

BOBBY: It depends. Elliott really isn’t into Star Wars all that much. He loves R2-D2 (he calls him Bee-Boop) and BB-8, but right now he’s way more into Hot Wheels, trains, and construction trucks. Nika likes Star Wars, but I’m not sure I’d call her a fan. At least, not in the sense that we mean it. Logan, however, is absolutely a Star Wars fan. He’s not so much into the action figure toys, but he likes Star Wars LEGO and a lot of the Star Wars reference books and materials. He’s also a big fan of the Clone Wars animated series, and we’ve had a great time watching Rebels.

6: Am I right that you’re a school teacher? What do you teach?

BOBBY: I teach 9th and 12th grade English in a town just outside of Cleveland called Garfield Heights. I’ve been doing this for 12 years, and I greatly enjoy it. It’s sort of difficult to imagine doing anything else.

7: You once posted a Facebook photo of yourself at work, dressed up in an awesome Star Wars outfit. Can you describe exactly what you were wearing that day?

BOBBY: Heh heh. I was wearing a full Star Wars suit. My mother made the tie, vest, and suit jacket. She made the tie and vest from vintage Star Wars curtains and she made the suit jacket from some modern Star Wars fabric. She’s still working on the pants so for school that day I wore some modern Star Wars pajama bottoms. The socks, underwear, and t-shirt were also Star Wars, but I’m not sure how many people outside of my immediate family knew that.

My mother is really good at sewing and making clothes, and she made me a lot of things growing up. I started asking her to make me a full Star Wars suit a few years ago. She sort of put it off for a while because she knew I’d actually wear it out in public. I don’t get embarrassed easily so she sort of gets embarrassed for me. Proxy embarrassment. When she finished the suit, she made me promise not to wear it to work or out with my girlfriend. I lied through my teeth and told her I wouldn’t. I did both.

I wore the suit on December 18th. It was the last day of school before winter break and, of course, The Force Awakens premiered that day. I’ll wear it next year before Rogue One premieres.

VSWC: What an awesome mum! No, have to say I definitely didn’t know you were wearing SW underwear that day….

VSWC: How did the students react?

BOBBY: I tell ya, kids are strange. Some kids thought it was awesome, some were genuinely puzzled, and some glanced at it without a second thought. I’m actually fairly conservative at work so I don’t think I’m pegged as being particularly eccentric by the student body or anything. I guess their minds were on things other than what I was wearing. It did help, however, to identify who the Star Wars fans were. Several kids came up to me excited to talk about the new movie. I had some good Star Wars talks when we returned from break.

VSWC: So other than the outfit, do you ever manage to squeeze Star Wars references into your lessons?

BOBBY: Yeah. It happens. My students are well aware that I’m a big fan and it does come up from time to time. I don’t actually have tons of Star Wars stuff in my room other than a couple posters and a few other small doo-dads. That being said, I just showed Star Wars for the first time as a teacher. I have a senior seminar class and I’m in the middle of a unit on Joseph Campbell. So, we watched A New Hope as an example of the hero’s journey.

8: Before we get to vintage Star Wars, I have to ask about your love of comics. Am I right that you used to collect?

BOBBY: I did. Like a lot of other folks, my collecting interests used to be a bit broader than they are now.

VSWC: What did you collect?

BOBBY: Mostly Marvel and Vertigo stuff. My favorite titles were The Punisher, Daredevil, The Fantastic Four, and the Silver Surfer. I enjoy all aspects of the Marvel Universe, but I’ve always been particularly drawn to the sort of gritty, street-level, NYC-centered stories of Punisher and Daredevil as well as the cosmic stuff that Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer explored. At one point I had a pretty respectable collection with some complete runs and a bunch of key issues, but most of that I sold off years ago. The only regret I have is selling my set of Fantastic Four 48, 49, and 50. I absolutely love those issues and they were in fantastic shape. I love Silver Surfer, they’re such key issues in the Marvel chronology, and the story is amazing.

VSWC: So you weren’t a DC fan then?

BOBBY: No, not really. Not the DC superhero universe, anyway. I love their Vertigo stuff. I mean, I’ve always liked Superman and Batman, but that might be because they’re such superhero icons. I have a lot of friends that read comic books and we’ve had many a late-night Marvel vs. DC beer session. Make mine Marvel!

VSWC: And what are your favourite comics now?

BOBBY: I still love comics, but these days I’m definitely a reader rather than a collector. I still love all the titles that I mentioned above and reread them on occasion. But my favorite titles are Transmetropolitan, Sandman, Astro City, Preacher (or anything Garth Ennis writes, really), and other Vertigo stuff like that. I’m currently reading Brian K. Vaughan’s Saga and gradually, slowly working through Claremont’s original X-Men run.

VSWC: Love all of those titles! Are you excited about the upcoming Preacher TV series?

BOBBY: Yeah. I’m looking forward to it. I mean, I’m trying to ready myself for the fact that it’s probably not going to follow the comic exactly. The trailer for the show already suggested as much. But if they remain loyal to the characters and the overall story and retain the comic’s marriage of intelligence and irreverence, then I think this could be a winner. In terms of how the show relates to the comics, I’m sort of hoping it takes the Daredevil model. I’m about halfway through the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil. I’m watching the show while rereading Frank Miller’s Daredevil run. A lot of the show views as a remix of Miller’s work. Some stuff is added, some stuff is omitted, and a lot is rearranged. And yet, I find that the show maintains the feels and spirit of Miller’s work. Nika and I were watching Daredevil a few nights ago and at one point I paused the program and told her that if Preacher takes the same approach, it’ll probably work.

VSWC: I notice that a lot of SW collectors also collect comics (myself included). What do you think is the common factor that draws some people to both of these hobbies?

BOBBY: I’m not sure I can speak for other folks, but I have a deep love and appreciation for stories. So, my interests have always leaned toward avenues that provide this: comics, movies, novels, role playing games, etc. Also, for those that grew up liking Star Wars, a lot of other fantasy stuff seemed also to fall under that umbrella – and that includes comic books. Wrap that up with the fact that some of us are just naturally drawn to collecting, and it starts to make a lot of sense. But yeah, I love a good story. A good story can be told to me in a book, on a screen, or by the guy sitting next to me at the bar. Doesn’t matter. A great story is a great story.

VSWC: The correct response is actually “we are all nerds” but I’ll accept your answer 🙂

BOBBY: Well, yes. There is that. Heh heh.

9: How did you feel when Marvel bought the rights to Star Wars comics?

BOBBY: I was thrilled to hear that Marvel reacquired the rights. I really never cared for what Dark Horse did with Star Wars. As both a Star Wars and comic book fan, one would think I’d be all over that stuff, but none of the stories really hooked me. I’ve read a few issues of Marvel’s Star Wars and the first couple issues of Darth Vader, but with all the stuff that Marvel has already published, I have some serious catching up to do.

10: Let’s talk a bit now about vintage. What was the first Star Wars movie you saw at the cinema?

BOBBY: My father took me to see The Empire Strikes Back when it premiered in 1980.

11: Was there a particular scene at the time that really stuck in your mind?

BOBBY: Not that I can remember. Though I remember really, really liking the movie. My father told me that I was riveted to my seat for the entire film: a pretty solid feat for an antsy 5-year-old kid. I do remember leaving the theatre after seeing it. The building is still there. It’s not a cinema anymore. It’s now a discount shoe store or something far less interesting.

12: And what about the toys? What’s your first ever memory of a vintage Star Wars toy?

BOBBY: Immediately after my father took me to see Empire Strikes Back, we walked down to the other end of the shopping plaza to a Kiddie City toy store where he bought me a Twin-Pod Cloud Car and a Darth Vader action figure. I don’t have the Vader figure anymore, but I still have the Cloud Car. I can still remember staring up at the aisle of Star Wars toys; amazed at the variety. The one thing I wish younger collectors could experience is staring at a full store aisle stuffed with vintage Star Wars toys. That Christmas, I got a Darth Vader action figure case, a few more figures, and a Millennium Falcon. I still have the Vader case. My original Falcon is pretty beat up, but it hangs from the ceiling in my collection room.

Bobby’s childhood falcon.

13: So at the moment what do you collect and how long have you been collecting?

BOBBY: I’ve been collecting for almost 25 years. For most of that time I’ve focused on the toys. The last few years have seen me increasingly interested in cast and crew stuff, movie production items, screen used props, and other “movie” collectibles.

14: Have you ever had a figure focus?

BOBBY: Nope. I’ve seen some really rad figure focuses, but I’ve never had one myself. My favorite vintage figure is Luke Jedi so I’ll live vicariously through Bill Wills’ and Shawn Kemple’s Luke Jedi focuses.

Bobby’s amazing collection room

15: What inspired you to collect?

BOBBY: It’s sort of hard for me to pin down when I started collecting Star Wars items. A lot of folks’ stories seem to have some “eureka” moment where they uncover a box of their old childhood toys, see some vintage figures in an antique or collectible shop, or see one of the recent Star Wars movies in the theatres. That didn’t really happen to me. Even after Star Wars sort of drifted out of popular culture, I continued to pick up the odd item at garage sales and flea markets and such: toys, games, puzzles – pretty much whatever I’d stumble across for a few bucks. My childhood Kenner toys never got packed away. I always had stuff on a shelf or something in my room or in a box in my closet, but I never banished them to deep storage. But still, I didn’t consider myself a Star Wars collector.

Like a lot of kids my age, I collected baseball cards and a bit later comic books. I bought Star Wars stuff, sometimes often, but I didn’t collect it. That changed in ‘92 when my folks bought me Steve Sansweet’s Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible (SW:FCSC). I’d seen Star Wars toys listed in cruddy paperback price guides and such, but this was the first time I’d seen these toys treated with such artistry and respect. I read that book from cover to cover, then reread it. The splash page featuring the 93 Star Wars figures blew my mind. I wasn’t paying much attention to Star Wars toys when Power of the Force was released so I had only a few vague, passing memories of them existing. And I had never seen figures such as Yak Face, Blue Snaggletooth, and the vinyl caped Jawa. I decided to assemble a complete set of loose Star Wars figures with their correct accessories: my first Star Wars collecting goal! Of all my collecting endeavors, this was the most fun and rewarding. The feeling I got when I finally finished the loose set and stepped back to admire my complete set of vintage Star Wars figures has yet to be matched by anything else I’ve acquired. I still revisit SW:FCSC from time to time. It’s still an incredibly great. My first copy started falling apart years ago, but it remains a valued part of my collection.

VSWC: Great story. I’m glad that you mentioned Sansweet’s book SW:FCSC because I think a lot of newer collectors don’t realise the impact it had back then.

16: So what would you say is your favourite piece in your collection?

BOBBY: I figured you’d ask this when you first approached me about doing an interview. It’s such a difficult question. My favorite piece would have to be that Twin-Pod Cloud Car that my father purchased for me after seeing Empire. So, I might be the only person out there who’s favorite item is that goofball ship that looks like a couple of yams stuck together.

VSWC: Beautiful! I wish I still had some of my childhood vintage.

17: Do you have a grail?

BOBBY: There are a few things on my radar right now. I’d love to nab one of the mid-size Death Star gun towers to complement the 1” and 15” examples that I have. I’d also love to get an acrylic cast and crew star. I had one years ago, but I gave it to a buddy when he got married. Others items that I’m looking for would be the Helix Death Star pencil sharpener and a nice example of the bootleg Princess Leia lamp.

18: I first came across you on the Rebelscum forum. Do you still go on there much?

BOBBY: Every so often, but not nearly as much as I used to. Sometimes I’ll log in once a day for a week. At other times, it’s weeks between visits.

19: Do you think the vintage forums can survive since Facebook groups have become so popular?

BOBBY: Yes, absolutely. But if they haven’t already, folks are going to have to get used to forums playing a much diminished role in the hobby. I like forums because they’re a bit more exclusive. Everyone has a Facebook account and it’s really easy to move in and out of the different groups without any sort of social investment. It’s pretty common for someone to casually join a group, cause some problems, be annoying, and bail. At least with forums, one has to find the website and register. So there’s a bit more of a buy-in. Not much, but maybe enough to make some folks not even bother.

But I really don’t care for the ability to remain anonymous on forums. It’s my pet peeve. It bugs me. I’m 40 years old. I want to converse with adults with real names, not with SuperStarWarsFettMeister or Endor_Luvr or 12BackAFAKing or some other such nonsense. People will say things and cause problems that they never normally would if their identities were out in the open. If you can’t say it with your name attached, don’t say it at all.

20: Well said. So do you get the chance to meet many collectors face to face? Are you member of any collecting clubs or do you get to many conventions?

BOBBY: Absolutely. Around 1997 or 1998 I found the Ohio Star Wars Collectors Club website and went to my first meeting shortly thereafter. That’s when I started meeting folks that were pretty deep and dedicated to this stuff. At that time, a lot of the guys that are still around lived in Ohio. Fawcett, Cable, McGinley…all those guys were local. I’m still a member of OSWCC. The roster is considerably different from when I first joined, but it’s still chock full of some great people.

Bobby and Dave Brown hanging out in Bobby’s Command Tower swing set at the 2013 Ohio Star Wars Collectors Club Summer Social.

The Command Tower swing set itself

The Ohio Star Wars Collectors Club 1998 alumni

BOBBY (continued): I get to conventions when my budget and schedule permit it. I attended Celebration 2 and Celebration Anaheim and I attended ICE in Seattle a couple of years back. Celebrations have historically been a bit difficult for me because they used to fall right at the beginning of the academic year and there was just no way I was able to take time off work during those first few days of school. I was elated when things were shifted to April. I don’t plan on missing many more.

VSWC: Is that Command Tower yours? So rad! How did you get your hands on it and where do you store it?

BOBBY: Thanks. I love that thing. I actually got it from a fella on Rebelscum a few years back who listed several of the Speeder Bike components for sale. I was interested in one of the swings but when we started talking, he mentioned having a complete, sealed Command Tower. We worked out a price pretty quickly. That was the easy part. It was located across the country so I had to do some work in finding a private shipper who could freight it for a reasonable rate. I was so stoked when it finally arrived.

When the OSWCC Summer Social rolled around a few years ago, I thought it would be cool to assemble the thing and put it on display. Most folks had never actually seen it in person. I saw one years ago on display near the front of a local toy store, but my memories of it were fleeting. It was a big hit!

Right now it’s disassembled and stored in the upstairs of my garage. Next summer, I’m going to assemble it and install it in my yard so Elliott can use it. I know these things are few and far between, but I really can’t justify a swing set stored in my garage that I won’t allow my kid to play on. I can’t wait to see him in it!

21: What has been your favourite convention so far?

BOBBY: Celebration Anaheim was fantastic. It was great to see so many old friends and become better friends with folks that were formerly only acquaintances. It was also great to meet other folks that I formerly knew only through the Internet like you and Darren. In general, Star Wars collectors are good people: smart, approachable, and friendly. The vintage collectors also really have the do-it-yourself thing on lockdown. The amount of fan-generated stuff like the Archive Party and the swag trading going on alongside the more official stuff is impressive. The button/swag swapping was so much fun. I don’t buy too many things for my collection anymore. The chance to take home a slew of clever souvenirs made by people that I’m friends with beats another carded figure or boxed vehicle any day.

VSWC: So how much has the Celebration scene changed since Celebration 2?

BOBBY: Well. I only really have those two Celebrations to compare with one another, but maybe that will lend itself to some perspective. There definitely seems to be a lot more costumes or cosplayers or whatever you’d call them at Anaheim than at Celebration 2. I’m not really into that scene, but it’s super cool and I love seeing all the people dressed up as troopers and characters and such. Thank god for limitless, digital photography.

But as I mentioned before, the fan-generated souvenirs have really taken off since C2. I sort of thought my buttons were clever, but what I saw at Anaheim simply blew my mind. Blake and Flarida’s Kenner poster, Rob Amantea’s Micro Bacta pins, Amy Sjoberg’s cross-stitched Ewok buttons, Darren’s Helix Death Star medallion, the OSWCC Vader case patch set, the SARLAAC cups…I could go on and on. Incredible. It’s just amazing how much ownership the collecting base has taken in these conventions. That’s the way it should be.

22: Will you be in London this July?

BOBBY: Sadly, no. I’m taking my family to Disney World in June and I have a few other family trips scattered throughout the summer. A trip to London just isn’t in my budget. But I’ll be in Orlando for the 2017 Celebration and I’m sort of promising myself to attend the next European Celebration. It’s been years since I’ve hopped the pond and I’m sort of itching for a trip back to your neck of the woods.

23: Some of my readers may not know this, but you were actually a big part of the Plastic Galaxy documentary from Brian Stillman. How was it filming that?

BOBBY: Super fun! I was fairly active on the Rebelscum forums for a few years. At some point, Brian got in contact with me and asked if I had time to chat for a few moments about Star Wars collecting. Not one to pass on the chance to talk shop, we jawed for a while on the phone. He brought up the possibility of me being in Plastic Galaxy and I told him that I would be interested. A few months later we did the interview in my collection room. I’m not normally one of those people who really relishes the chance to be on camera, but I’m not the shyest guy either, so I had a good time being a part of this. The real weirdness came about a year or so later during ICE in Seattle. Brian was nearing the final edits to the documentary when he screened a 45-minute rough cut of the film in a local theatre prior to us watching Return of the Jedi. So yeah, here’s me watching myself in a movie about Star Wars toys at a real movie theatre before watching my favorite movie of all time while eating popcorn out of a vintage Star Wars popcorn bag surrounded by a few dozen other hardcore Star Wars collectors. Super bizarre. 8-year-old me was going absolutely apeshit.

Screenshot of Bobby’s part in Plastic Galaxy

24: The first time I saw you in person was during your presentation of the fantastic panel ‘Star Wars Pickers’ alongside Chris Fawcett and Shane Turgeon at Celebration Anaheim. Can you tell us what exactly a ‘pick’ is?

BOBBY: I’d define a “pick” as a deliberate acquisition of vintage or collectible items from original owners. Going to Target isn’t pickin’. Rummaging through a dusty attic or a dank basement looking through boxes is pickin’.

25: What has been your best ever ‘pick?’

BOBBY: Get ready for a long answer. I’ve always enjoyed buying and selling old toys stashes. I’ve done this for years and it’s really helped to fund my collection and establish a network of connections with other collectors. I used to work for a business in Cleveland called Big Fun. It’s an odd place: a mixture of an antique store, collectible toy shop, nostalgia and pop culture store, and tourist attraction. The place is a popular fixture in Cleveland and you wouldn’t believe the amount of old product that walks in the doors of that place. If people saw our basement or warehouse, they’d pass out.

I got a phone call from a woman one day who told me about tons of toys she had in her attic, basement, and garage. I’m ashamed to say that I blew her off at first. I had just gone through a spate of traveling to people’s houses only to find really beat-up garbage, Playmates Star Trek figures, or POTF2 and other modernish junk. Something about the way she spoke about this stuff sort of suggested to me that this was another one of those instances. Thankfully she called me back a couple weeks later and in our conversation she mentioned having a boxed 12” IG-88. The bait was in the water at that point so I stopped by her place. When she took me into her basement, I had to pinch myself. The entire basement was full of old toys. The whole basement. To the ceiling.

This lady and her husband went to see Star Wars when a local theatre brought the movie back for a one-year anniversary showing. They were hooked, and for the next several years they bought an incredible amount of stuff. They didn’t really purchase the stuff as an investment or even really as collectors. They bought it because they loved Star Wars (and science-fiction in general) and this was how they chose to express their fandom. It gave them something to do. It was insane. There was shelving built along the walls with stuff basically warehoused onto it. There were boxes stacked up everywhere. There were several dozen Kiddie City bags laying around full of stuff with the receipts dated from ‘79-’83 floating around in them. They just brought home bags of stuff and chucked them on top of the pile. And it went way beyond toys. There was a pallet stacked with boxes of comic books and 70’s and 80’s sports card wax boxes, a full run of both Playboy and Life magazines, slews of old Coca Cola displays, vintage 60’s model kits, etc. Just tons of stuff.

I did an inventory after all the product was relocated, but I can’t find it right now. There were over 500 carded figures, a couple hundred MISB vehicles, playsets, and accessories, and a few hundred other ancillary items like model kits, art sets, and anything else with the Star Wars logo on it. There were slews of other toys from the late 70’s and early 80’s like GI-Joe, Transformers, Knight Rider, Clash of the Titans, Flash Gordon, Space 1999, Voltron, Black Hole, Indiana Jones, Buck Rogers, and Star Trek. Everything.

I really scaled back my toy buying after my son was born. It was really fun and I did quite well with it. I found a lot of stuff! But it’s also a time sink and I just found myself short of hours. Incidentally, I still work for Big Fun. I don’t really hold hours there anymore, but I’m still involved with collection acquisitions, pricing, and such. I love that place.

VSWC: Amazing story! That really is every collector’s dream! So did you get to keep anything yourself or did it all go to your employer?

BOBBY: Nah. We split it all up. I got a few things, but not as much as you’d think. By the time I found this stuff, I had pretty much completed my collection of production Kenner toys. I already had a complete run of unused vehicles and playsets and I think I finished my MOC set a week or two before going into this basement. So it goes. Imagine that. I spend 15 years slowly assembling a carded set then stumble across 500 of the damn things in a basement. But there were a lot of oddball things that I kept.

The coolest piece in the basement was one of the very rare Empire Strikes Back Special Offer display stands. According to this lady, it was given to her by a Kenner employee who was resetting the Star Wars aisle when she and her husband showed up and started loading up their cart with toys. She saw that they were interested in Star Wars got it out of her car and gave it to them. I kept it for about a month before I put it up for sale. It was neat, but I had some expenses coming up that took precedence.

Some of the booty from Bobby’s best picks. Yep…

26: Can you give a bit of advice to other collectors hoping to land a big vintage score?

BOBBY: Sure. You have to be willing to spend money on advertising. If you’re running ads on Craigslist, you might be disappointed with the results. At least, I was. My better scores have always come with running print ads in local and community newspapers. The right demographic reads those types of publications. Running paid ads can get expensive, but I’ve found it ultimately worthwhile. It might get tedious when you’re spending money every month to run them, but all it takes is once great score to make it all worth it. Another key component is targeting the right neighborhoods. The Cleveland area is home to a lot of older neighborhoods with families that are in the same houses they’ve been in for the last 40 years. That’s where the good stuff is.

You have to be honest. People are pretty savvy about things and are often a bit suspicious about folks trying to buy their old crap. With eBay and the Internet, it’s also super easy to do a quick value check. Be frank, fair, and be willing to spend a bit of money to get the stuff you want. If people feel like you’re being straight with them, chances are you’ll walk out with some stuff. If people get the sense that you’re trying to pull a fast one, you’ll often get nothing. And really, this is all supposed to be for fun.

27: The term ‘in the wild’ seems to be misused quite a lot in our hobby. What’s your definition?

BOBBY: To me, it means finding and purchasing stashes of old toys and collectible items from the original owners outside of any established marketplace. Finding a case of Star Wars figures for sale at a flea market, collectible store, or on eBay doesn’t count.

28: Great, sounds about right. So being from Ohio, did you ever get the chance to visit Kenner or any of the famous brick and mortar vintage stores in Cincinnati?

BOBBY: No. Cleveland is about a four-hour drive north of Cincinnati so it’s not exactly next door. A lot of my collector buddies made some pretty regular treks down there to meet with former Kenner employees and Steve Denny and such, but they were a bit older than me, had graduated university, and were in decent paying jobs with some disposable income. I was a broke college kid so I wasn’t able to get in on a lot of that. Still, it was a thrill getting to see what a lot of them brought back! I learned a ton and got to examine a lot of amazing pieces firsthand. But by this time I should have at least gotten down there to check out the old Kenner buildings. I’ve been to over 20 countries and have collected Star Wars toys for over 20 years, but I’ve never seen the Kenner locations in my home state. Total Star Wars fail.

29: I’ve got a few more general question to ask you about the state of the hobby before we finish up. If you could change one thing about the hobby as it stands today, what would it be?

BOBBY: I’m not really sure I’d change anything. I mean, I don’t like reproduction stuff or anything like that, but most of the time you can avoid being burned if you learn about the hobby and network with other knowledgeable collectors. That’s the fun part. I guess times there seems to be a certain amount of drama in the hobby or people get all wrapped up in whatever cause is the current hot topic, but I largely ignore most of that.

30: I think everyone agrees that prices are crazy right now. Why do you think this is the case and when do you think the bubble will burst?

BOBBY: The one thing that always comes up when I’m talking shop with my collector buddies is how much prices have risen over the last couple of years. It’s staggering, really. But it does, in a lot of ways, make sense. I think with the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm people have realized that Star Wars may be a forever property. Much like Disney characters and some of the more well-known superheroes, it would be fair to say that Star Wars is now an indelible part of entertainment culture. Interest in Star Wars might wax and wane, but I just don’t think it’ll go away completely – not in my lifetime, at least. I think prices will relax a bit after the next couple Star Wars movies premiere and the heady days of all this new hype dies down a bit, but probably not by much.

31: And finally, what is it about the hobby that has kept you collecting for all of these years?

BOBBY: I love Star Wars. I’m a huge fan of the brand. I watch the movies, read the novels, read a few of the comics here and there, fool around with the tabletop games, and collect the toys. The only thing I really don’t mess with are the video games because I’m just not that much of a video gamer in general. If that makes me a fanboy, so be it. I know some folks that collect the stuff but aren’t really all that big a fan of the franchise. That’s fine, but that’s not me. If I’m going to have a room of my house set aside for this crap, it’s gotta be attached to a property that I really like.

But none of this would be sustainable in a social vacuum. Like a lot of other folks have mentioned before, there are some great people in this hobby that I’m proud to call my friends. I wish I got to see a lot of them more often than I do, but I probably would have greatly scaled back my involvement in the hobby if it weren’t for my buddies.

VSWC: Well thank you so much for joining me today Bobby. It has been an immense pleasure and I’m sure my readers will enjoy reading your answers as much as I have!

Welcome all to the eighteenth episode of our collector snapshot, where a vintage collector answers 10 short questions. The same questions will be given to every collector appearing in this segment.

I’m a bit embarrassed that it has been four months since our last collector snapshot. Things have been busy but I’ve resolved to produce these interviews more regularly again. Anyone I’m making up for it with this cracker of an interview. I’m very excited to welcome Dwayne Smith onto the blog! Dwayne is born and raised in Northern California, married with four kids and works as a school maintenance supervisor.

Dwayne is actually responsible for the most popular photo ever posted by us – yes that’s right – he was the man inside that fantastic vintage Hammerhead costume at Celebration Anaheim. I was lucky enough to see Dwayne and his costume in action at the Chive Cast Party.

While the Hammerhead costume is great, you’ll see in this interview that Dwayne is not a one trick pony. He has an awesome Star Wars collection and is heavily involved in the Star Wars and vintage communities. He’s a life long Star Wars fan and is a member of the California Vintage Collectors Club, Stormtrooper Ranch and the 501st.

To the questions!

1. How long have you been collecting?

I’m part of the original generation of fans who got to see Star Wars in theaters in 1977. That following year I can remember being in Kindergarten when Kenner action figures starting showing up on the play ground. I recognized the Han Solo and the Stormtrooper my friends were playing with in the sand box. I was hooked right away and in no time I had my mom take me to K-Mart to get my own figures. So I started pretty young.

2. What do you collect?

Great memories, is the best way I can sum it up, I love all things Star Wars but the items I treasure most coincide with great memories of how they came to be part of my collection. When I look at my vintage figures I’m reminded of how I received them as gifts for birthdays, Christmas and being brave at the doctor’s office. Nostalgically I’m drawn to vintage era collectibles like The Kenner Action figures, Topps cards, Marvel comics, promotional items and 8 track cassette tapes. I enjoy the adventure of discovering items here and there and if I’m able to bring one home once and a while that’s great.

VSWC. We’ve had some outstanding collectors/individuals answer this question but this is hands down the best answer I’ve seen so far. The SW vintage community would be a much better place if we all focussed on collecting “great memories.”

Check out some of Dwayne’s collection. Damn……..

3. What’s your grail?

It’s so hard to narrow my wish list down to just one grail. I’d love to get myself a DT (Double Telescoping Saber) Vader action figure someday. Realistically and much more within my budget. I’m trying to track down a copy of the 1983 UK Return of the Jedi Weekly No. 28 comic book. The cover features Vader wearing a Santa Claus hat, it’s just so weird I love it

4. What collectors inspire you?

Doesn’t everybody answer with Steve Sansweet? I guess I will too. I’ve been friends with Steve Sansweet for a few years now. He’s been a mentor to many fans and collectors like me. I admire his passion for collecting and his vast knowledge of all things Star Wars. It’s also reassuring to know that I don’t have to collect everything. I can let Steve do all the work and I get to see the items when I visit the Rancho Obi-Wan Museum.

VSWC: The big fella in the centre of the photo below; book-ended by his friends and fellow 501st troops – Elton Hom, Jon Farmer, Steve Sansweet and Ed DaSilva. This great shot was from last October’s annual “Gallloween” gala event at Rancho Obi-Wan.

5. What is your most embarrassing moment as a collector?

I’m prone to sarcasm so I’m sure I’ve said something ridiculous at some point that someone in the community took seriously, no doubt embarrassing myself and being oblivious to it.

6. What is your favorite Star Wars film?

That’s tough. It’s definitely one of the original trilogy films. Some days it’s Star Wars because it was the first film to inspire my imagination, Some days its Empire Strikes Back because it’s has the best story (Dark Side wins and all) and some days it’s Return of the Jedi, because 10 year old me went absolutely nuts watching it in 1983.

7. What would you change about the collecting community?

I don’t know what I’d change about the community, I love it the way it is. I would however encourage other collectors to understand this is all supposed to be fun. If collecting stresses you out you’re doing it wrong. The world is full of problems, collecting and Star Wars fandom in general should be an outlet to just enjoy and have fun with.

8. Forums or Facebook groups?

They’re both great and have their pros and cons. Lately I prefer the Facebook groups. I guess scrolling is just too easy.

9. What Star Wars character do you most resemble?

Well, I’m 6’3″ and I have a pretty good Darth Vader costume. I troop as Darth Vader as a member the 501st, Golden Gate Garrison, so I guess I most resemble the dark lord. But I’ve also been known to resemble a certain cantina patron, who just happens to be my favorite obscure Star Wars character, Hammerhead.

VSWC: No caption needed to explain these….

10. Is there one thing that collectors may not know about you?

I’ve been a volunteer with Rancho Obi-Wan for a few years now. I’ve helped with various projects and events. And I have just recently become a volunteer docent / tour guide. It has been awesome to share Steve’s amazing collection with other fans.

VSWC. Great answers Dwayne! Very inspiring. Thank you so much for taking the time out to join us and please continue to do what you’re doing because you’re doing a fantastic job!

Hello everybody! Welcome to our eighth full-length collector interview, this time with my good friend French super collector Stephane Faucourt! I must admit that I’m cheating a little this time, as I actually first ran this interview on our new forum Tantive XI a couple of months ago. However our moderator team there were happy for me to re-post here for those who have not yet joined our new forum.

I’m really excited to have Stephane on. I won’t give too much of his collecting profile away before the interview starts but it should be no surprise that he is one of the globe’s leading collectors of French Star Wars collectibles. He released his book ‘La French Touch: History of French Star Wars Merchandising 1977-1986’ in June 2013, which was a follow-up to his previous book – ‘Meccano to Trilogo’ in 2006. These have now been superseded by a 2016 edition – ‘La French Touch – The definitive guide to French Star Wars collectibles 1977-1987.

I have a copy of ‘La French Touch’ 2013 edition (photo below) and Stephane was even kind enough to sign it for me!

If you are interested in buying any of Stephane’s recent books, please follow these links:

I’ve gotten to know Stephane quite well in the past year or so and was stoked to meet him and his beautiful family in person at Celebration Anaheim. You’ll be pleased to know that Stephane is as nice in person as he seems online. Not only that, but he loves chatting about vintage Star Wars!

Well sit back, relax and I hope you enjoy our premier interview!

1. CC: Hi Stephane and welcome to the forum! As I said in the intro, the mod team and I are over the moon that you agreed to be interviewed. We’re only a brand new forum so we are blessed that such a well-known collector like yourself has agreed to come on and support us so early on. I hope the experience is not too harrowing! So let’s get the most important question out of the way first. Are you a supporter of Europe’s worst football (soccer for you Americans!) team Paris St. Germain (PSG)?

STEPHANE: Hi everyone, fellow collectors, and thank you as well Christian for proposing me to be your first victim; you set the expectations very high in your intro and I sincerely hope that I was kind enough with everyone I met at those events  I guess there’s a few topics which could be sensitive, and football teams might be one of them… but sorry, no I’m not supporter of any football team.

2. CC: Well as long as you don’t support PSG I’m fine with that  So before we explore your vintage collecting experiences and views, I’m sure our forum members would love to know a bit about Stephane Faucourt – the man behind the collector. So can you tell us, where did you grow up and where are you currently based?

STEPHANE: Well, I’m from the early 1970s, I was born and grew up in the Parisian suburbs, and I am still based in Paris where I now work as well.

3. CC: So what do you do for work these days?

STEPHANE: I’m an IT project manager for a major French company.

4. CC: Do you enjoy your work? Would you prefer to be working on something related to Star Wars full time or do you enjoy treating it mainly as a hobby?

STEPHANE: I guess we all have ups & downs, but yes I find my job interesting and challenging – working in a big company actually gives me great opportunities to work on various projects, find new positions, even in other areas. I would also be very excited to work on Star Wars or Sci-Fi related businesses but this is really far from my working experience and I think there are only few people who could actually make a worthy living out of it. So in the end, it’s very fun to do it as a hobby.

5. CC: Do you collect anything other than Star Wars?

STEPHANE: Not that I can think of. When I was a child, my main toys were Playmobile, Lego, and Big Jim until Star Wars toys came out; you know those Meccanos… From that point on, Star Wars was the main toy line I played with, but I admit I was a spoiled child and I also had some great times playing with the diecast Shogun Warriors, Ulysses 31, Captain Herlock and Captain Future just to name a few. Yes, I had possibly hundreds of toys. I used some of these toys as trade bait when I started to collect Star Wars vintage stuff.

6. CC: I was lucky enough to meet your beautiful wife and son at Celebration Anaheim. So are they Star Wars fans as well or did you force them into going to Anaheim?

STEPHANE: Well, thanks, your wife is very nice too, and she even speaks French, which was also cool for my wife.

My wife is not really into the toys, but she’s interested in some particular pieces like our Illusive Concepts life-size Yoda which she likes to disguise on multiple occasions, she can also be interested in funny stuff like displays, posters and food premiums. Sometimes I even have to restrain her or we would get into modern collecting. My son loves all the Star Wars movies like any kid I know, he has some toys but I always let him make his own decisions about the toys he wants and I try not to influence his choices because of my own collection.

Here’s a couple of photos of us hanging out with the Faucourt clan. Kevin Lentz is in there too.

And I love these photos of Stephane’s Yodas!

As we love going to the States and we had not been to California for quite a while, I said to my wife this was a good opportunity for a vacation as well, so I didn’t have to force them  We took a nice trip after C7 going to places we like, and we added a little Star Wars with ROW, Lucas Film, and Seattle… They were very pleased with the things we saw. We ended the trip with a SARLAAC collectors club gathering in Seattle, which was an awesome experience.
Stephane hanging with the SARLAAC crew

7. CC: So can you tell us, what was your first ‘Star Wars’ memory of any kind?

STEPHANE: It was before even having the toys, Star Wars had been released in theaters, and I don’t think I saw it from the start, but some friends and family had seen it already, they were talking about the things which made the movie incredible at that time and they also explained to me about the characters and their role in the story; it was the best stuff I had ever heard.

8. CC: Was there something about the story that particularly affected a young Stephane?

STEPHANE: Not particularly – but something funny, when you consider that I am an early fan of the movies, is that I first heard about the Star Wars plot from some family members. I don’t recall if it was me as a child, or them, but the plot which I had been told about was a bit different than the actual one 😉

9. CC: When did you first start collecting vintage Star Wars?

STEPHANE: I started with all the toys from my childhood, I was very careful with my stuff and all my figures were still mint, most of the vehicles were still in their boxes and I had kept some of the cardbacks. I had pretty much everything that was released in France from 1978 to 1983. It was already sort of a collection because everything had been stored very cautiously.

I almost started collecting in the very early 1990s because of the stuff you could find in garage sales and even clearance stuff in supermarkets, but I passed, had “better things to do” at that time if you see what I mean. But that’s how I learned about all the stuff that was released after I quit.

I spent two years working in NYC around 1995 and I noticed the vintage/comics frenzy that was going on. That was the trigger somehow, I assumed there was a secondary market for those toys and that this was the opportunity to catch the cool stuff I had missed. Some will probably laugh at this, but the very first stores I ran into were Forbidden Planet, and Loves Saves the Day, both in Manhattan. The first figure I bought as a collector was a nice loose Hoth Stormtrooper for $26!

CC: Great story! My first purchase as an adult collector was also a Hoth Stormtrooper (carded). Unfortunately it turned out to be a Toy Toni!!!!

10. CC: You’ve told me some really cool stories about your early days of collecting. Do you have any examples of your best ‘finds’ back in the day?

STEPHANE: Well, I began refocusing my collection on Trilogos in the late 1990s/early 2000s. At that time, they were easy to find in Paris collectible stores and of course on eBay. Very few people would buy stuff from foreign sellers, so each time I found Trilogos, they were French Trilogos of course I would generally meet the sellers in person at cafes near subway stations and I would always ask if there was more, which of course there was frequently 

I’ve done so many deals in various areas of Paris, that even nowadays, when we’re out for a walk, there’s always a place we come across where a deal was made 😉 I was also the first French collector to run my own website in France, so that gave me a few nice buying opportunities.

Now, let me tell you about two very nice finds I made back in the day.

The first one was in 2002. I was contacted by a collector who had square Meccano cards for trade. He was trying to finish his loose collection and I just had to trade several loose figures, a Rebo Band set and a few loose vehicles for… 12 Meccano ESB carded figures in opened but great condition!

In 2008, I was at a toy fair selling my books. A guy came up to me, he had a lot of 70 Trilogos figures which he had bought originally at a clearance sale in 1987. He had been trying to sell them for months but didn’t find any buyers interested (can you believe that???). I told him I would buy the lot; he had set the prices at half the market quote. I bought everything; dead mint Trilogos including Luke, Vader, Fett, etc… I kept all the variants I didn’t already have, and I upgraded almost 30 figures in my collection and I sold the rest at cost price (can’t believe I did that). That’s why you can see some major improvements on the conditions between “Meccano to Trilogo” and “La French Touch” on those cards.

I did incredible things to get some of my stuff, like contacting buyers from auctions I missed, rearrange the deal between seller and buyer to finally get the item 😉 I also drove hundreds of kilometers the very same day to be the first in the line ; “always ready” 😉

It takes some time to “do your homework” to find stuff and finds are generally just one or two items. But sometimes it’s not bad at all; this year alone, I found five Meccano ESB MOCSs from four different sources; beyond any of my expectations for a single year.
CC: Thanks for sharing those stories Stephane. Simply incredible! You really make a great point about the payoffs to be gained from doing your own research. I’m not hugely into ‘flipping’ but I think the guys who have enough knowledge to buy big figure lots and then re-sell them individually deserve every cent they get. You need to do your homework as you say to know where to find great stuff and whether or not to roll the dice on a big deal.

11. CC: So what is your collecting focus these days?

STEPHANE: The collection is mainly vintage production stuff like Meccano and Trilogo action figure toys (MIB/MOC) and related material (ads, catalogs, posters…), and some other French items such as posters, food premiums… I also like some very specific modern stuff like Celebration giveaways, some particular food premiums and related material (posters, napkins…). I keep in mind not to extend the size of the collection with modern items, so additions are very occasional. On the vintage side, I’m only seeking a few items and keeping a lookout for Trilogo packaging variants.

Some of Stephane’s awe inspiring collection. Cop that!

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12. CC: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ…. Oops sorry, just fainted there for a few seconds. What a collection! So what gaps are left for you to fill?

STEPHANE: The good thing is that I have pretty much everything I want by now: Meccano, Bilogo and Trilogo vehicles/playsets mint in their boxes, most still unassembled. A nearly complete set of Meccano carded figures from GDE (12/20-backs) to ESB – only a few to go, some ROTJs, and a complete set of Trilogos, including packaging variants of those released in France – some figures I have up to four versions of because of packaging variants for the same character.13. CC: Wow Stephane that is truly impressive. But are you finding it difficult to collect now that prices on foreign collectibles have increased so much recently or do you find ways around it?

STEPHANE: I’d say it depends if you are referring to public sales or private deals. But I think that collecting needs also patience, networking, and other skills you need in everyday life. With patience it’s still possible to make good purchases even on public/online sales; which allows you to save money for the big piece which you know you can’t find around and that you’ll have to pay a premium for. But like any other collector, I can still manage to make local finds and buy at affordable prices. Those opportunities only show up once in a while, but they still exist.

14. CC: I love your buying philosophy Stephane. So Meccano carded prices seem to have really soared in the past couple of years. Do you think they will stabilise anytime soon?

STEPHANE: Meccano collecting is a tricky market, that’s a niche area of the hobby with only a few players and even if prices have really soared, they can also fluctuate because there’s less competition once the key players all have a same piece and most other collectors are not willing to top prices on Meccanos as they are often damaged.

On the other hand, AFA collecting has created a demand for mint items, which makes it even more difficult with Meccanos. So there’s a new market for high-range stuff and occasional buyers (not Meccano collectors) because it’s rare and cool. As this looks to be the hype these days, it looks like nice Meccano stuff has the potential to keep increasing. Until when, who knows? I might be wrong but collectors of vintage toys, even newcomers, are generally our age; I’m not sure 20 years from now these will have the same appeal to collectors…

15. CC: So what is the hardest to find carded Meccano at the moment?

STEPHANE: Wow, I’m not sure there’s an answer to that question  As Meccano items are difficult to find, you never know what’s going to show up next. Until last year we presumed a ROTJ 45-back Leia existed but never found any cardback, and suddenly three dead-mint examples surfaced among 50 other cards… 10 years ago, Meccano 12-backs were a myth, and they’re always surfacing in near complete sets every two or three years… same for square cards… when you think you’ll never see a piece again, luckily another shows up… Even the rarest one, Luke X-Wing, has now a three or four carded count.

Of course, iconic characters will always gather much more interest, they are tough to find, but not always the hardest. I guess square carded Darth Vader and Boba Fett will always be the most sought after, they are the most iconic on French square cards.

16. CC: Is there much of a collecting scene in France?

STEPHANE: France has a strong fan base, but not really a collecting scene in my opinion. There are a lot of collectors though including some longtime collectors with great collections of any kind (vintage or modern toys, GG or sideshow kind of stuff…). Some of them are active on various forums or Facebook, but nothing comparable to the collecting scene in the U.S. or U.K.

17. CC: Is there a Parisian collecting club?

STEPHANE: There’s no Parisian Collecting Club, but there are a few collectors living in or around Paris and we gather from time to time, going to some SW related events, or simply getting some drinks and dinner.

18. CC: It was great seeing you at Celebration Anaheim. Did you get the chance to meet many collectors there?

STEPHANE: Of course! I discovered international events with FACTs in Belgium, then Celebration Europe 2007. I recommend attending such events to anyone who can make it. It’s a way to meet pals, and even some you have known for a very long time by mail, FB or whatever but you actually never met, and make new friends in the hobby!

The best thing is to hang out in the hotel lobbies or local bars, talk about our hobby and the things we like, continue to hang out at various events, without forgetting to mention all the swag we had all made for others to collect and trade.

I had a truly fantastic time at all those events, nothing can beat that! So many good memories (and pictures).

A random selection of some of Stephane’s favourite convention moments. You might recognise some budding vintage collectors in there

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19. CC: What did you think of the convention in general?

STEPHANE: The convention was great, so many things to see and so many booths of all kinds; with licensees showcasing their upcoming products, vintage toy dealers, fan clubs from various places…The collectors’ gathering (Archive Party, Room Sales…) and collecting panels were also top notch. I also liked the autograph section and the conference hall starring key people/actors of the saga. On the drawbacks side I thought it was way too crowded at some point, and we had to wait too long in line for the main activities. Even the convention store was a three hour experience!

20. CC: Did you make any vintage purchases?

STEPHANE: I was prepared to, but didn’t find anything special apart from two Meccano 12-backs which I already had, but I was surprised to see such Meccano items at a U.S. convention.

21. CC: I was really disappointed to miss your presentation at the Collecting Track. I heard it was killer. Can you give us a quick summary of what it was about?

STEPHANE: The presentation was featured in the collector’s social room. It was a review of the various product categories marketed in France between 1977 and 1987, following the French Touch book outline. In addition to the toys of course, there was a quick press review, miscellaneous toys, French Ewoks stuff, professional’s material, catalogs & ads, consumer goods, and movie related stuff.

Stephane strutting his stuff on the presenting stage.

As you may recall, I also offered a “French Touch” pin, and a flyer for the upcoming book – I’ve had great feedback on the pin and it’s even worn here in France among collectors and some of my own colleagues.

CC: Well I do recall! The pin is absolutely beautiful and was definitely one of my favourite C7 pins. A lot of work and money must have gone into them.

Here’s a taste of the giveaway goodies

22. CC: Now to your wonderful book ‘‘La French Touch.’ What’s it all about?

STEPHANE: La French Touch is a multi-purpose book if I could say so; a book to look at, but also to read. I tried to make it of interest to any Star Wars fan, whether you’re a collector, interested in general merchandise, or the history of the franchise and its marketing strategies.

It covers products marketed in France during the original era, from 1977 to 1987. Firstly, it reviews the entire range of products from the various categories like toys, games, magazines, posters, food premiums, books, records, video etc… with individual photography.

It also reviews the way those products were promoted and advertised through many public and professional material. The first chapter covers the response the original movies received in France with a wide press/magazine review.

It is important to note that this book is the result of a collaboration of many collectors who provided the items from their collection in order to make it the most complete possible.

In the end, that’s 270 color pages, the equivalent of 70+ pages of text to be read (not just short notes) and 1500+ color pictures / document scans.

The book was originally released in 2013 shortly before Celebration Europe 2, and I announced a new 2016 Definitive Edition at Celebration 7.
This Definitive edition is now available on Amazon with an awesome new cover from my friend Yann Leroux which gives a glimpse of the content.

Stephane signing one of his books during the C7 room sales.

Here are some sample scans from various editions of French Touch. What a cracker.

CC: Rather than extoll the virtues of your book here, I’ll paste in a past review I did over at VSWC Blog:

23. CC: I know it has been hugely popular and I’m a big fan myself but are you happy with how it was received by the collecting community?

STEPHANE:You bet I am  Meccano to Trilogo was widely acclaimed back in 2006 because it introduced the French and European toys to many collectors. But I had to make something different for the next book. With “La French Touch” I wanted to reach a broader audience, cover the various products categories retailed in France to give a better understanding of the French market and its associated history.

“La French Touch” has been a great success, same as “Meccano to Trilogo.” I think it has opened a new field of collecting for many collectors, on the toys of course because it’s much more detailed than “M2T,” but also on all the other French stuff you can collect. The new social networks have opened new ways of collecting and all sorts of focuses, so knowing what’s out there is the key.

24. CC: Looking back now, is there anything that you would change about the book?

STEPHANE: Well, yes; and it’s already done as we speak.

As with any other publication, such a book sets a common base for collectors to share the stuff they have referenced, and naturally it allows identifying new items.

The 2013 edition was already very complete, covering possibly 95% of the stuff released in France, but with time, we identified some additional interesting pieces in almost every product category. I wanted to make this definitive edition to go as far as we could, and improve a few things, so hopefully we are now covering 98% of the French product base.

We also had to rework the cover. I was very pleased with the original grey cover which perfectly matched the serious aspect of the book. But I realized that many collectors didn’t catch the book also covered the toys, in a much better and complete way than “M2T”. So we designed this new cover showing merchandise to clearly set the tone.

25. CC: Any plans for a follow-up?

STEPHANE: Not really a follow up, but I do have some plans though  We’ll keep that for a future discussion, I would prefer avoiding too many expectations and will deliver once the work is done.

But I am also particularly proud to be part of the Official French book “La Guerre des Etoiles – la saga vue de France” (literally “The Star Wars saga seen from France”). It’s an OFFICIAL book for a general audience which will be released late October in France. We achieved two major things doing it – it is the first time a book is released in France without being a translation of a previously available U.S. book, and also the first time in 20 years that Lucasfilm allows usage of the original French Star Wars pyramidal shaped logo on an official product.

CC: Wow well done! What a great achievement!

Here a shot of the book itself

26. CC: Well Stephane, it has been a pleasure as always. You sincerely are one of the brightest lights of this hobby and a true gentleman. Everyone who has dealt with you will confirm that’s not just lip service on my part. So before we tune out, do you have any advice to all of the budding collectors out there?

STEPHANE: Thanks Christian. Well, I’d say “be cool,” keep the fun of collecting while doing it for your own enjoyment, and don’t hesitate to socialize with other collectors. It is also important to show interest in the collectibles and their history, and not just add stuff on the shelves; there are plenty of online resources and great books to help

CC: Well they are definitely words to collect by. Thanks again and see you soon. Hopefully even in Paris one day soon!

STEPHANE: Sure. I’m always more than happy to meet foreign collectors/fans visiting Paris, I’m always up for a drink or even sightseeing if I can make it

Welcome all to the seventeenth episode of our collector snapshot, where a vintage collector answers 10 short questions. The same questions will be given to every collector appearing in this segment.

This is a very special episode as our guest is one of the most active contributors to our hobby. I’m stoked that someone of Amy’s collecting caliber agreed to come onto the blog and I’m sure you’ll all enjoy reading through her responses as much as I did.

Amy is a 34 year old human resource professional from Seattle, Washington. I met Amy only briefly in the Collectors’ Social Room at Celebration Anaheim, where she was kind enough not to crack up laughing at the terrible pin I gave her advertising my blog (trust me, I’m not being modest).

Here she is on a SARLACC ((the Seattle Area Lucasfilm Artifacts Collector Club) film location trip to Death Valley.

Amy actually presented at C7 and you can check the video of the panel here; where she and Jarrod Clark discussed Ewok collectibles. Thanks to Tommy Garvey from theswca for continuing to post these great videos of the C7 collecting panels.

Amy is extremely active on the collecting scene. She’s a member of SARLACC, R2 Builders, Ewok Builders and even has time to blog at http://blog.theswca.com andwww.SARLACC.org. I’ve actually recently shared one of Amy’s great blog articles on our Facebook page, here it is again if you missed it:

I was introduced to Star Wars at a young age with Return of the Jedi being the first film I remember seeing (and still my favorite Star Wars movie). Ironically, it was my brother, Karl, who was the Star Wars collector in our house in the 80s.

Amy and her brother, Easter 1984. Yep that’s a stuffed Ewok!

It was at Celebration 3 where I bought my first vintage item, a loose Jabba with throne. I also met collectors in my area, this eventually led me to joining SARLACC. It was an eye opening experience to meet other collectors. I have learned so much from them and had amazing adventures along the way. I had the opportunity to host panels on collecting and can typically be found volunteering at the collecting panels at Celebration. As with my friendships, my collection has been growing year by year.

VSWC: Amy tells me that seeing friends is always the highlight of her convention experience, especially the Archive Party (the party hosted by podcasters Stephen Danley and Skye Paine – check out our previous interview with Steve and Skye – VSWC Interview – Steve and Skye.)

Here she is with some of her collector friends at C7 – (left to right) are Jim Gibbons, Steve Sansweet, Michal Stewart, Aaron Leonard, Amy, Tom Stewart, and Earl Bergquist

2. What do you collect?

It has always been a ‘collect what you like motto’ for me. Lets just say it is still a work in progress and ever evolving but can be mainly narrowed down to the following categories: vintage and modern 12″ figures from Kenner, Hasbro, and Sideshow toys. I’ve always had an affinity for the 12″ scale and am close to completing my Kenner 12″ collection. Sideshow has made some great figures over the past 10 years and I have almost every Star Wars rebel/hero figure they made. I also have paired these with Gentle Giant busts and statues for many characters including Obi Wan, Leia, Han, Luke etc.

Return of the Jedi, Ewoks, and the huts they live in vintage and new. I have every ewok action figure sold by Kenner and Hasbro. My affinity for my favorite playset of all time, the Ewok Village, is plain to see. My collection is called ‘The Ewok Village’ so I have a reputation to maintain. 😉 I own three Kenner villages, two loose and one boxed. Then there’s the preschool ewok line, catapult, hang glider, and battle wagon which are all boxed. I have an Ewok plush infestation and that slimy gangster Jabba and his denizens are everywhere. I also collect ROTJ Lego sets (including the Ewok Village of course!)

Prequel and Clone Wars Obi Wan collectibles. I have a collection of art cards collected over five years at various conventions by some of my favorite artists. My other favorite piece in this category is the mythos Obi wan statue by Sideshow.

I got to meet Ewan himself a few years ago. To be honest, I’m amazed I didn’t keel over. After all this the person who graced the Obi Wan calendar in my high school locker.

Event collectibles and hand made Star Wars items, plush, and ceramics. I have plush from art shows including a handmade Wampa. Collectibles from past celebrations, items made by SARLACC and gathered from our many film location trips. There’s a shelf for bootleg and licensed ceramics including the infamous Taun-Taun Teapot and C3PO tape dispenser by Sigma. I like to use the bookshelf edges to hold all my lanyards. My favorite Celebration collectible is the buttons people make. There is so much generosity and creativity there. They remind me every day of all the great collectors out there from all over the world.

3. What’s your grail?

I’ve never really had just one grail item. Grail items are like the future…. ‘always in motion’ and ever growing as I discover more things. Most recently I was looking for a 1986 Ewoks Ice Capades light up button, a 1983 set of ROTJ valentines, and a 1984 Ewoks calendar. Both I’m happy to say I got all of these in the past month.

And here they are….

Note: These pictures are from the sales listings themselves.

I also do all of this without using Ebay so I defiantly play the long game on a lot of pieces. And I rely on my network of collector friends who alert me to new stuff posted out there. Thankfully with SARLACC, many of the items that I would love to have are in other collections locally that I get to visit at least once a year. So I get to see them even if I don’t have them.

4. What collectors inspire you?

There are so many people who have inspired me in this hobby. Gus Lopez for sharing his collection, his knowledge, and creating SARLACC. Jarrod Clark, fellow ewok collector who always keeps a look out for stuff I need. Mike Ritter, Tom Stewart, Lauren Bock and Bill McBride; all some of the nicest guys in the hobby. Pete Vilmur for his generosity and our in depth discussions on things like bootleg ceramics. Steve Sansweet for opening up his collection for everyone to see. Duncan Jenkins for his incredible encyclopedia like knowledge of collecting. Shane Turgeon for giving me the idea to focus on collecting memories and friendships over collectibles. There are so many more that I want to list, everyone I’ve met in this hobby has inspired me in some way.

5. What is your most embarrassing moment as a collector?

Those times in the past when checking out at Toy’s ‘R’ Us and the clerk asks if I want a gift receipt for my (non existent) son’s Star Wars toy. Thankfully, this doesn’t happen anymore. I think now they just assume the adults are getting Star Wars stuff for themselves.

6. What is your favorite Star Wars film?

My favorite film is Return of the Jedi. I know it may not be the best, but it is a sentimental favorite for me.

7. What would you change about the collecting community?

Star Wars collectors online can be negative at times. Sure we won’t all agree on what our favorite episode of Star Wars is, or what to collect. We should be welcoming, it is a large hobby and there is room here for everyone. Collections also come in all sizes and focuses. Thankfully, collectors I have met in this hobby are inclusive, supporting, friendly and willing to lend a hand by helping others get something they need in a collection. Those are the best people in the hobby, the ones that aren’t in it for the competition, or the money. Instead they share their knowledge, collections, and sometimes even collectibles. I guess you could sum that up as good collecting karma.

8. Forums or Facebook groups?

I still use both but I do like Facebook for the format. It is easier to meet folks within your collecting focus and view all the posts at a glance.

9. What Star Wars character do you most resemble?

Probably young Aunt Beru played by Bonnie Piesse. There aren’t many blonde women in Star Wars.

10. Is there one thing that collectors may not know about you?

Collecting is in my genes. My father has it, my brother had it… 😉 My first collection was Disney stamps (now that the Mouse owns Star Wars, I guess I’ve come full circle). It wasn’t until I got to college that I looked back and thought, Star Wars has always been there. Other hobbies have come and gone, but as the slogan goes, ‘Star Wars is Forever.’

VSWC: Well thank you Amy for coming onto the VSWC Blog! I absolutely love your passion for the hobby and it’s one of the main reasons I invited you on. It has been great hearing some of your collecting philosophy and your general views on our fantastic hobby. Hopefully your inclusive attitude can positively influence some of the more negative aspects of the collecting community. Thanks again!

I’m happy to present the thirteenth issue of our regular segment, where a vintage collector is given 10 short questions to answer. The same questions will also be given to the next collector appearing on the blog.

Next up is my friend Jake Stevens, a 38 years young Middle School History Teacher from Seattle, with former lives working for Disney Cruise Lines as an Entertainer and as an Analyst for Merrill Lynch. Or so he tells me…

I’ve been ‘online’ friends with Jake for over a year now so it was an absolute pleasure for my wife and I to finally meet him in person at the Archive Party at Celebration Anaheim last April. He definitely is as cool in person as he is online.

VSWC: And this is us hanging out at C7. I swear Jake sent me this unsolicited when I asked for photos for this interview! I’m not trying to barge in on his moment!

Jake is a very busy man when it comes to the hobby we love. Not only does he collect both vintage and modern Star Wars but he is also heavily involved in the community networking side. I’m sure a lot of you have heard of the fantastic podcast, which he co-hosts alongside Tom Berges, Jason Luttrull, Chris Bortz and Ryan Beise. The Galaxy of Toys Podcast discusses Star Wars toys past, present and future. I’ve listened to a few episodes (the ones focussed on vintage) and sincerely the show is hilarious and the guys really know there stuff. I’m surprised this podcast doesn’t received more exposure in the vintage community. Get out there and start downloading it! Jake also hosts a show all about Star Wars comics called “Star Wars Spinner Rack”. I’m sure it’s just as awesome.

VSWC: Here’s Jake with Steve Sansweet and his co-hosts of the Galaxy of Toys Podcastat a 35mm screening of Return of the Jedi in 2013. From left to right – Tom Berges (igrewupstarwars.com), Steve Sansweet (Rancho Obi-Wan), Jason Luttrull (Galaxy of Toys Podcast), Jake, Chris Bortz (JediBusiness.com) and Ryan Beise (Star Wars: Collecting Cosmos Podcast).

If you thought the podcasts kept Jake busy, well he also is the founder of the website – From4-LOMtoZuckuss.com. This site is devoted exclusively to Star Wars action figures both vintage and modern. It is designed to be a place where collectors can find action figure resources, reviews, information, checklists, calendars, news, speculation, event coverage, photography, and more. Jake tells me that the site was borne of his passion for the hobby and wanting to do more with it a few years back when the action figure lines were really scaled back. It’s a one-man show yet he says he is lucky from time to time to have guest bloggers, reviewers, designers, interviewers and photo-novelist contribute. I myself am incredibly grateful that Jake’s site was one of the first to mention yours truly (in the collector resource section). Thanks again Jake!

To the questions!

1. How long have you been collecting?

I’m a lifelong collector. As a kid I was pretty spoiled even though we weren’t rich in any shape of the word but I still amassed a good 70% of my vintage collection as a kid. Like many, as Star Wars faded from the spotlight I became distracted with GI Joe, Transformers and other iconic 80s lines and didn’t dive fully back in until the early 90s. But since then it’s been steady.

2. What do you collect?

Like the majority of the readers of this fine blog, I collect vintage Star Wars action figures and toys. Now as someone who identifies as being a toy collector, I tend to focus on just collecting one of every loose figure and item from the actual toy line and do not dip into prototypes, first shots, hard copies or proofs. Now where I stand apart from many collectors here is that I also collect every modern Hasbro Star Wars action figure and accessory. I know it’s insane but I love collecting Star Wars action figures both vintage and modern and I think 10-year-old Jakey would be happy I was still in the game today

.VSWC: A vintage corner of Jake’s current collection.

.VSWC: A couple of photos from 1984 when Jake entered his collection in the local fair. This guy has some serious form as a vintage collector! Both photos provided by IGrewUpStarWars.com

3. What’s your grail?

I have the great luxury of living in Seattle and being involved in the collecting community here which has some of the most amazing vintage collectors in the world. A by-product of this is that just about every prototype, concept design, rocket-firing, canceled second wave, Glasslite exclusive, etc. can be seen monthly at various get-togethers. This allows me to live vicariously through my fellow collectors and thus fulfilling that Holy Grail hole.

4. What collectors inspire you?

Again living in Seattle provides all kinds of inspiration. My friends Gus Lopez, Vic Weirtz & Lisa Stevens do the most incredible things with the actual cases, wall mounts and displays they use to highlight their pieces. Others, like my friends and co-hosts, Tom Berges and Jason Luttrull have vintage collections that are very clean and accented by other vintage Star Wars lines and collectibles.

5. What is your most embarrassing moment as a collector?

A few years back, I was fascinated while listening to this collector’s story of an amazing find they had at an obscure collectible shop and attempted to ask him to tell his story for my site. I was sure collectors would love to hear about this Darth Vader themed discovery. I even wondered if this guy named Bill knows how cool this story really is. And then another fellow collector pointed out that this Bill goes by the surname of McBride and is the same Bill who is the proud owner of Sithtoys.com – The Darth Vader Toy Museum. Thankfully he’s such a top-notch guy he didn’t (nor would he ever to anyone) call me out on my ignorance.

The Empire Strikes Back! Which is probably why Bespin Luke is my all time favorite figure.

7. What would you change about the collecting community?

There can be a lot of negativity toward those who are either new to the hobby or do not share the same collecting focus. As someone who has a deep passion for this hobby it’s always difficult to see, hear or read comments that polarize, scrutinize and criticize collectors who like us all, just desire to collect movie toys and memorabilia. It may be the educator in me but I prefer to educate and inform those in the hobby over sullying it with antagonism. To this end, in addition to starting an action figure website, I and others from my collecting group have begun hosting panels at local comic cons about action figure collecting and the hobby in general.

8. Forums or Facebook groups?

Ten years ago, I spent loads of time in the forums of Rebelscum, StarWars.com and SirStevesGuide but today with two little kids, an involved teaching career, a website to run and a supportive wife I like to spend time with, I have found social media to be more conducive to my current pace of life.

9. What Star Wars character do you most resemble?

I would like to say I’m a cross between the wisdom of Old Ben and the wit and good looks of Han Solo but in reality I’m probably a beardless General Madine taking care of business in the cut scene.

General Madine presenting at the Emerald City Comicon

Jake giving it all he’s got in ROTJ

10. Is there one thing that collectors may not know about you?

Despite having somewhere in the vicinity of 3,500 Star Wars action figures and another couple thousand or so from other lines, I do not nor ever have used eBay. I enjoy playing the long game, networking with collectors, going on toy runs, perusing antique and collectible shops and inheriting other’s collections over time.

VSWC: Well thanks for joining us Jake and as always it was as absolute pleasure! Thank you for that big shot of positivity and a reminder of why we all love this hobby.

I’m happy to present the twelfth issue of our regular segment, where a vintage collector is given 10 short questions to answer. The same questions will also be given to the next collector appearing on the blog.

Next up is my friend Jay Williams (Psybertech on most Star Wars forums), a 42 year old (he tells me he feels 52! Don’t we all!) from northern New Jersey, U.S. I met Jay (and his weird Scandinavian roommate) at Celebration Anaheim last month and I’m happy to report that he’s as easygoing and friendly as his online persona. I regret not hanging out more. Well there is always London 2016 🙂

Jay works on the technical side for an imaging and medical company and his job is to create web applications to connect different systems together for their field engineers and customers. He tells me that he doesn’t really have a fancy title other than simply being a jack of all trades and that he considers himself fortunate to do what he likes for a living.

This link might give away Jay’s answer to question two, but check out more about him and his focus at his great website:

I love this page and it’s easy to see both Jay’s love for Bespin Leia and his IT skills shine through. Well done Jay!

To the questions!

1. How long have you been collecting?

I recently got into collecting as an adult in Dec. 2012 after my father dug up a decent set of 20 or so figures from the first 12 & next nine and some ESBs from my childhood in my grandparent’s basement. They were all near mint, like new, and I wanted to complete the first 12 immediately. Before I knew it I was out to complete the next nine and then ESB, ROTJ and POTF. My goals have been evolving and a constant moving target ever since. I never thought I’d be a collector and it all came at me completely out of the blue!

2. What do you collect?

At the moment it is hard to say really. Last year I completed the full Kenner run, but the biggest thing for me is a focus I have on Leia Bespin. I took to her at first for the very obvious variations of crew and turtle necks but quickly spiraled down the path of mould pairs, factories involved, licensees, packaging, and well, everything and anything I could research. All of that research has helped me get a better handle on the hobby as a whole. I now see variants of everything, everywhere!!!!

I also am digging my latest run called the “Gross MOC Run” which is the first 12 figures each on 1 of the various 12 major US card back releases (12, 20, 21, 31, 32, 41, 45, 47, 48, 65, 77 & 79). It is cool thing and has so many possible combinations that will help this run evolve over time.

VSWC: Ok here’s some eye candy, first up is Jay’s main display. She’s a beauty.

VSWC: Next batter up is a photo of Jay’s loose run.

VSWC: Jay calls this his “Duo Display”

VSWC: And here’s the “Gross Run” he was talking about

3. What’s your grail?

I’ve got three grails so far and on the hunt for more. I own three Leia Bespin proofs; a 31B, 45A Hand-Cut and a Revenge. Plus a very cool and unique SW-A Leia Bespin baggie. That’s right… an ESB figure in a SW baggie!

Beyond those, I am looking out for any true pre-production Leia Bespin pieces like a first shot or carded mock-up. They are all up there for my top wanted grails. But any cool pre-production piece, Leia Bespin or otherwise, will be awesome to add. 🙂

VSWC: One of Jay’s favorite pieces to finish off the photo gallery – Takara Transforming X-Wing

4. What collectors inspire you?

A lot actually, but there are two that started me down my research path/rabbit hole. Alex (General Khan) and Wolff (wbobafett). When I first saw two massively different Leia Bespins in my hands, I was trying to find information on her and stumbled across Alex’s Luke Bespin Limelight and Research topic on The Imperial Gunnery forums and my jaw dropped. What the hell was all this???? He documented not just hair and paint, but COO stamps, company origins, blaster and lightsaber variants, what accessory could be confirmed with a specific Luke, cardbacks, MOCS, baggies and man, that was more than my brain could handle at that time!!!

My OCD finally met its match and puked!

Next, I quickly found Wolff’s site and my jaw proceeded to punch a hole through my floor! This was widely spread through the figures and I had to know (and OWN) more!

My collecting had just found a direction!

Thanks Alex and Wolff!!! Who knows if I would have stuck with collecting if I wasn’t inspired like I was.

Same goes to every other variant collector who helps the hobby with discussion and documentation! (Kenneth, Lee, Marco, Patrick and so many more!)

All of my early posts. 🙁 I had the same questions you see on every forum out there. YUK.

Is this a real DT? Is this rare? Why is the COO like this? I think I discovered something!! Jeesh… so many posts that make me cringe when I was very green. Shit, I still make some boneheaded comments. :/

6. What is your favourite Star Wars film?

The Empire Strikes Back!!! Bad guys winning, Boba Fett, incest and the Skywalker’s plot thickening… man, such a great movie!

7. What would you change about the collecting community?

That is a tough one. I guess two things come to mind….

I’d encourage folks on Facebook that aren’t on forums to sign up and start posting on forums more. Forums are like an encyclopedia of sorts and so much more manageable for searching long term.

I’d also love if there was some Artificial Intelligence involved in posts to automatically get rid of dickheads.

8. Forums or Facebook groups?

See #7…. but………. Forums, forums, forums. Forums for anything serious. That said, I just really started getting involved with Facebook and while it can be fun, it is total chaos and unsearchable mostly. It has it’s place to help expose the masses to some things, but I would love for the serious FB’ers to join up on the forums and get involved. There is just so much blatantly wrong information floating around. Get your feet wet on FB and if you’re serious, we’ll see ya on the forums at some point I hope. No offense to full time FB’ers! I get it. People like FB. I like it too for some things for sure. But at the end of the day, meat and potatoes are what forums are. The hobby would benefit greatly if more people could contribute to the hobby in this manner.

9. What Star Wars character do you most resemble?

In ROTJ at the Emperor’s arrival, the Stormtrooper in the 4th row, 6th to the right. 😛

10. Is there one thing that collectors may not know about you?

Let’s see… I love drinking beer! Wait!… people know this already. I love hockey and the NY Rangers. Wait, people know this too. I like RC cars and crawlers. Damn, I’ve said that before. I’m a PC techie…. damn, I’ve mentioned that before. Damn, I guess I share too much. 😛 Wait, I have a soft spot for Yoda… crap… said that before too! hahaha

OK… one thing I guess, I am a HUGE Forza Motorsport fan! I love running laps over and over and over and over and…….. Name a car and a track and a lap time and I will destroy you!

VSWC: Well thanks Jay for joining us on the VSWC blog. As always it has been an absolute pleasure!

We’ve finally hit the big ten episodes of our ‘collector snapshot’ segment and what better way to celebrate than by welcoming Thomas Quinn onto the blog! I know I always say our participants are great guys and girls but seriously do collectors get any friendlier and easygoing than Thomas? I first met Thomas last year, when I sold him a Luke Farmboy cardback. I couldn’t believe how appreciative he was for selling him the cardback when I myself was happy to move it on from my collection (I don’t collect cardbacks). True reflection of the kind of collector he is. Since then I’ve got to know him better and I love seeing the effort he, along with Jason Thomas and Mike Boniface, puts into heading up the Empire State Star Wars Collectors Club. For the most part, their meetings are located in upstate New York, but they continue to recruit members from as far away as Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Western New York.The goal of their Star Wars collecting group is to both educate and create a community for their members. Thomas tells me that they embrace new and old collectors alike and that he is always fascinated to see what other people collect, and how they collect it.

Ok to the questions!

1. How long have you been collecting?

I have been collecting Star Wars since 1977, but that really doesn’t tell the story. I saw Star Wars as a seven year old and in 1977 I made my parents go to see it over and over again in the theaters. Of course, being that age, I couldn’t wait for Star Wars toys to come out. My father cut out an article about Kenner making Star Wars toys, but they weren’t going to be ready for Christmas of 1977. I finally got my first Star Wars toys for Easter 1978. I was hooked. Although I stopped collecting in 1981, I saved my toys in the basement. In the mid 90s when interest was renewed for Star Wars, I pulled them out of the basement. I began to research them on the new technology known as the ‘Internet’. Once eBay came along, I bought my first new figure: Hoth Princess Leia. I was hooked…again.

2. What do you collect?

I primarily collect loose figures in great condition, but I also keep quite a few beaters lying around to play around with. There’s something special about a well-loved toy. I also collect cardbacks and vehicles complete with their boxes. I have some carded figures but don’t consider myself a carded collector.

VSCW: Check out these pics of Thomas’ fantastic collection. Really is a great mix of loose, MIB, MOC and other vintage goodies.

3. What’s your grail?

Being a loose collector, I’ve been fortunate to be able to find most of what I look for at a reasonably affordable cost. However, the item I am looking for right now is a Palitoy Death Star. It is one of those things that I never knew it existed until I became an adult collector. When you’re a collector I guess you never truly stop looking for items.

4. What collectors inspire you?

The two collections that have blown me away are the ones owned by Mike Boniface and Yehuda. Mike is a loose collector like me. He has the patience of Job in searching eBay and finding great deals on unique items. Yehuda’s collection just blew me away when I got to recently see it. I love how he displays it, what he collects, and his willingness to open his home to show it off. You meet some pretty terrific guys in our hobby and we have some great guys in the Empire State Club.

5. What is your most embarrassing moment as a collector?

My dumb, naive, young collector moment was when someone asked me to do a trade and I got ripped off because I never got the items that were promised me. So, the “trade” turned into a one-way ticket. I blame it on my youth and lack of knowledge. Live and learn.

6. What is your favourite Star Wars film?

I would have to say my favorite Star Wars film is the first one, not because it is superior to the Empire Strikes Back, but because it drew me in to both the world of science fiction and collecting.

7. What would you change about the collecting community?

The one thing I think is over-emphasized in our collecting community is the grading process. I don’t get my toys graded. If I think they’re beautiful, that’s all that really counts.

8. Forums or Facebook groups?

When I began collecting, I was on Rebelscum every day. Now, I find myself on the Facebook pages. Facebook has become important to me for the Empire State Club, as it offers another way for me to connect with other people in our area interested in the hobby. I do think that both are great methods to communicate with other collectors.

9. What Star Wars character do you most resemble?

These days, I probably look more like Uncle Owen, but in my heart I will always be the farm boy looking to the stars.

10. Is there one thing that collectors may not know about you?

Most people have no idea, that in addition to my passion for Star Wars, I have an equal passion for Major League Baseball. I have been to 36 major league ballparks, and most of the spring training complexes. On my upcoming trip to Celebration Anaheim, I am able to visit three major league ballparks. Strangely enough, I bought game tickets, then later found out that 2 of the 3 games fall on the one Star Wars Night at the ballparks! I’m excited to combine my two passions into one trip.

Well the moment is finally here. My wife and I booked our flights from Amsterdam to LA for April! We already had our Celebration entry passes and tickets to the CHIVE party (what I’m looking forward to the most!) but we’d been procrastinating about the flights for two months. We just came back from Sydney and Bali so it was difficult committing to another huge trip so quickly.

We’ll spend at least three days at Celebration (maybe four) but we’ll have about two weeks in California, visiting LA, Palm Springs and possibly San Francisco or San Diego. I’ve promised my wife that I’ll make up for her having to come to the convention, so we’ll do some art and architectural based tours (supposedly mid-century design is all the rage in Palm Springs!). We might all love Star Wars but not everyone else does. She thought ANH was “okay” but that the rest of the movies were as boring as batshit, as we say in Australia. Well at least she didn’t like Attack of the Clones, that could have been a relationship breaker. Anyway she’s a trooper and encourages my love of the hobby so I consider myself blessed. She did come to Celebration Europe with me in 2013 so I was stoked on that. And just to repay her for that I might share a photo of her looking nerdy with a lightsaber. It was pretty much the only moment she looked awake at Celebration Europe.

Here she is:

Just jokng! But this lovely cosplay enthusiast was at Celebration Europe.

Here she is. Nerd alert!

Well enough about my wife – who’s coming to Anaheim? Would love to meet as many collectors as possible. I’ll be at the CHIVE party (tickets already sold out!) and Jenni Bennett’s organising some drinks which looks like a lot of fun. Of course I’ll be at all the vintage events. Hope to see you all there!!!! I’m so excited I just pissed my pants!

I’m stoked to finally present Carl, Gary (Gaz) Edson and Ross Barr from the Facebook Group ‘Star Wars 12 Backs, 20/21 Backs, and Early Vintage Collectors Group’. Those who know this group may be surprised to see that I’m only interviewing three of the admins, when there are actually four. Well we actually set about conducting this interview months ago, when there were only three admins and I decided to restrict this interview to the first three founders as adding a fourth would make this interview even more massive than it already is.

I did though speak to the lads and they mentioned that former admin Jeff Walters did an absolutely fantastic job as an admin until he had to resign due to his increasingly busy work and personal commitments. Jeff is still an active member of the group though and both his attitude to collecting and his collection itself are credits to the hobby.

Steve Dwyer (aka ‘The Dark Artist’ on Rebelscum) is the latest addition to the admin team and what an addition he is! Steve is one of the most knowledgeable collectors around (particularly in regards to first 12 figure vintage prototypes – his 3D prototype focus has to be seen to be believed). Not only that but Steve is committed to improving the hobby and is also one of the loveliest blokes in the hobby. I hope one day to host both he and Jeff on the blog.

While I still prefer the collecting forums over the Facebook groups, this group is one of my absolute favourites. That’s not just lip service, I really do enjoy it and it seems to be growing into an influential group. And sincerely these guys are some of the friendliest blokes in the collecting world and they epitomise why I love vintage collecting – it’s as much about the people as it is about the toys themselves. Not only is this is a great group but it is also is a perfect example of collectors from all over the globe coming together to create a community for individuals to get together and share their joy of collecting.

Although there are still some teething problems with the use of Facebook to connect us to fellow collectors, it seems this format will play an important role in the future. For example, one of the main groups (created by British collector Jason Smith) actually has more than 14,000 members, which really is outstanding and highlights that vintage collecting is a growing and thriving hobby. That said, there is still a lot of debate going on in the collecting world about the value of these Facebook groups, more recently revolving around the issue that they may be causing fragmentation among Star Wars collectors – check out more about this in our previous article – http://vintagestarwarscollectors.com/forum-thread-of-the-month-september-2014-fragmentation-of-vintage-collecting-chat-via-rebelscum/

Now to the interview!

1. Before we discuss the Facebook group, it would be great to learn more about you guys. Ross you and I came up through Rebelscum together so I know you pretty well but Gaz and Carl I only really started to connect with you blokes through Facebook. Ross you are from the States (or ‘AMERICA’ as us non-Americans like to say) and Gaz and Carl you guys are British but where did you guys grow up? Are you all married with kids or are you footloose and fancy free?

Ross: Christian, I have always liked what you said in your posts on RS, and I am glad we have gotten to know each other even better on FB. As for my personal life, I have been married since August 2008, have a five year old son named Eli (my collecting partner – seriously, he can point out all flaws in a MOC in under 10 seconds), three year old daughter named Lana, and a one year old daughter named Sadie.

VSWC: Ross and the gang.

Carl: I started my early collecting days on a forum called SWCC (Star Wars Collectors Cantina). I was a mod on there in the early days and got to meet some great people, since then I browse RS for the sales but our Facebook page is the main one for me. I’m in a great relationship with Lisa , and have two kids of my own and two step kids.

VSWC: Carl and his family.

Gaz: I live in a small mining village called Shirebrook (near Mansfield) in the UK. I’m still there as of now. I’m 42 so a good age for collecting SW so they say. I live with my partner but I’m not married but I don’t think it will be to long thou. I have three kids as well – 24, 15 and 13 years old and all GIRLS (yes hard work). I’m going to be a granddad soon holy shit!!

VSWC: Gaz and his girls!

VSWC: Gaz and his wife looking sexy and dangerous.

2. So do you ever get teased about your collecting?

Ross: I do get teased occasionally, but even my friends that tease me do think it’s cool. I think there is still a misconception that all collectors and lovers of SW are nerds, but I am quick to tell those people that I have met some of the coolest and funniest guys I have ever met through SW collecting.

Carl: Do I ever get teased ? I’ve had the piss taken out of me a few times by my mates, that’s because I’m a massive wind up, and they know I would deffo do the same 🙂

When I first joined the Facebook pages, I didn’t realise pages weren’t private so I was posting my 12 backs etc and of course they were appearing on my Facebook feed. Then on a night out with the lads, about five of them started making chewie noises and taking the piss. I had to take it on the chin, because I would have done the same 🙂

Gaz: Do I get teased mmm well come on I do live with three girls lol! Seriously thou yes I did when I first got back into collecting, but now my close friends and family see the values involved in buying and selling they just leave me in my own little world which I’m more than happy about.

3. How long have you all been collecting, how did you catch the bug and what do you collect exactly?

Ross: I have been a lifetime owner of the toys and collector since I was a child, but started collecting again in earnest a few years ago when I dug out my loose figures, some carded stuff, and other random stuff. Having a son that was just as into it as me really gave me the fuel to collect again, and we went from there. My primary focus is my full run of 96 figures on their first “movie” card, but not necessarily needs debut card back – just the front. The first 12 must be on 12 backs (again, don’t care about A v. B v. C really), the next 9 on 20/21, all ESB characters on ESB card fronts, ROTJ on ROTJ, etc. I have a full loose collection in C9 ungraded condition, and have a few MIB vehicles and playsets that I like. I am also working on an “original” Han Solo (not Han Hoth, Han Bespin, etc. – just “original” Han) focus, with the goal of getting him on every card front and back that he has ever appeared on. Finally, I am working on a full set of the 12 inch figures MISB, and have “just” one (Boba Fett) until that is done.

VSWC: Ross and his growing Han Solo focus.

VSWC: Three of Ross’ favourite pieces. Vader is a production double telescoping saber (DT), while Ben is a hand painted first shot with mushroom tip DT saber and Luke is an engineering pilot with a production DT saber. Amazing pieces!

Carl: I’ve been collecting for about seven years, I have changed focus many times over that period, but now my focus is 12/20/21 backs and all early stuff. I got the bug seven years ago when I brought some loose vintage figures for my son. There were about 10 in total and when they arrived they were that mint that I couldn’t let him ruin them. So they went on my shelf and my collection grew from there.

I’ve also recently started collecting and an ESB/ROTJ run with clear bubbles.

VSWC: Carl standing guard over his stellar collection.

Gaz: I’ve only really been back into collecting for the last four years, yes I did have it all as a kid but like most people got rid of it all in my early teens. I got the bug back really just by looking up Star Wars on eBay and it carried on from there.

I remember my first figure was a loose Chewbacca with a repro weapon lol, then like Carl I’ve changed my focus a million times, just finished my 21 back run (all 12 Backs are A cards) and I have a few of the rare pieces. I also just started on the ESB line. I love the cartoon droids and ewoks so maybe I’ll collect them at a later date.

VSWC: Some of Gaz’s awesome collection.

4. Do you ever meet face to face with other collectors?

Ross: Since I have joined RS and the Facebook groups, I have met more and more collectors face to face. I am part of an Ohio collectors group and have done a few events, meet friends on comic con events and toy shows, and have had friends I have met on RS and FB stay at my place or have met them out for beers and brought them back to share my collection. Having someone over to see the collection is a real treat.

Carl: Had a great time at Memorabilia in Birmingham and met up for the first time with some great lads Steve UKG, Adam Pemberton, Marcus Schroeder, Klause Dorscher (Marcus), Sheldon Wagstaffe, Gaz Edson, Paul Smith, Rich McLean, Marc Walsh, James Martin and Graham Hughes and had a few beers and a curry afterwards. Great night! Dean Keenan and Chris Hyden both live a few miles away so we also meet up for a beer and a chat . Also me and Gaz Edson meet up regularly. One day I would love to travel the pond to meet my USA bro Ross lol.

VSWC: The lads hanging out in Birmingham.

Gaz: I’ve only had a trip down to Carl’s to do a couple of SW deals over a beer, more on the horizon 🙂

VSWC: Gaz and Carl (left to right) hanging out recently.

5. Are there any good conventions coming up? Will you be going?

Ross: I attended an amazing toy show last month in Cincinnati, OH, the home of Kenner, and got to catch up with many old friends and meet many new ones. I don’t remember having that much fun locked in a room with a bunch of dudes. Well, I do remember, but I will keep this interview PG-13. Hahahah. As for conventions coming up, right now I am looking forward to attending Celebration 7 in California next April.

Carl: Just Memorabilia for me in the UK in November, more than likely I’ll go. I’m also thinking of going to Jedi Con in Germany. I had a great time meeting up with my two friends Marcus Schroder and Klaus Dorscher at this years Mem show so would love to do Celeration Anaheim in April and meet all the friends I have made from these groups, but I don’t think I will be able to have the time off.

Gaz: I’ve never been to one but would love to, so it’s something that’s going to happen.

6. What are you all into other than vintage star wars collecting? Is there time for much else?

Ross: When I first got into collecting as an adult a few years back, I was buying childhood collections and other items on eBay – mostly GI Joe and Masters of the Universe (He-Man). I needed to take a step back and focus on one thing with everything else going on in my life, so I am slowing selling off everything other than Star Wars stuff.

Carl: I have my own building firm that keeps me pretty busy and of course the Mrs and the kids lol. My other passion is football (soccer). I have a season ticket for Wolverhampton Wanderers and have followed them since I can remember. We also have three Bedlington Terriers, and enjoy nothing more than taking them walks on evenings and weekends.

Gaz: Not really, most of my spare time goes into SW, it’s hard for much more with work and family. I do love football and support Sheffield Wednesday I go to see them whenever I can.

7. Gaz I notice that you always seem to have top pieces for sale at decent prices and that you have a steady influx coming into your collection? How do you do it? Where do you find this stuff?

Gaz: Ithink I’ve just been lucky with spending hours and hours on eBay, sending messages asking if they had more for sale and doing deals away from eBay for better prices, so able to sell I bit cheaper and find some nice bits for my collection, but it’s getting harder and dryer out there.

8. So do you have any advice for newer collectors who are trying to find quality items at decent prices?

Gaz: Patience, believe it or not. Good deals do still come up from time to time and do your homework so you know what’s fake and what’s genuine, this way when good deals do become available you can hit ‘buy it now’ in confidence knowing it’s the real deal. Snooze and you lose in this game.

9. Carl what do you think about the current market at the moment? What is driving the current situation, where prices seem to be soaring?

Carl: Without a doubt the current market is on the up, which is a real shame, as this has put a lot of the items out of reach to a lot of collectors 🙁 My opinion is since the news of the new Star Wars movies, the prices of MOCs etc have started to soar , and as the film gets closer there’s a chance they could get even higher. Since I started collecting 7-8 years ago , prices have trebled to what they are now.

VSWC: 12 backs do seem particularly affected. I bought my 12 Back B Luke (AFA 80) for 500 pounds just before Christmas (admittedly a great deal) and now the same piece is selling for more than double. So do you think the Disney films will further effect this trend?

Carl: Definitely. In the last six months prices are creeping up, but the new films next December have definitely had an impact. I also I think that, because the original cast are back in (ie Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie , C3PO and R2) 12 backs could increase further …….

11. So are you dudes excited about the new movies? Can JJ do it for the fans or will it be the prequels all over again?

Ross: Great question. From what I have seen to date, there is a movement to use more props, less CGI, and overall be truer to the OT (original trilogy), all of which I hope and think will lead to a great product. Disney paid a ton for the SW franchise, and has to get it right. With that said, Star Wars is like sex to me. Even when it’s bad, it’s good!

Carl: Can’t wait mainly because the original cast are back in it after 30 years, let’s face it the new films can’t be any worse than the last three and with the addition of the Stormies \, Falcon , x-wings etc from the original trilogy. I can’t wait ….

Gaz: I’m buzzing about the new films even more so knowing we have some of the original actors in there 🙂 It’s going to be a BIG HIT !

12. Ross I noticed that you changed your Rebelscum name from Darth Roscoe to Ross_Barr (is this correct?), pretty much in line with what the old guard did a while back. Are you too good for us now? Did you get enacted into the inner circle without letting your mates know?

Ross: Lol Christian! If anything, I am worse off for having dropped my cool Darth Roscoe moniker… Seriously though, consistent with point (4), as I met more people face to face it was frustrating to explain that I was “Darth Roscoe” on RS, so I made things simpler and went with my real name. And I did join the inner circle – they have beer and cheap women!!!!!!

VSWC: Yep ‘Darth Roscoe’ is a pretty cool dude…

13. In all seriousness, you’ve only been collecting for just about threeyears yet you’ve amassed an enormous collection and I think you’ve almost finished your MOC run How the hell did you do it so quickly?

Ross: Thanks for noticing, Christian. I need just a fewmoreMOCs to complete my full 96 carded run. And to answer your questions, yes they are all US Kenner. I have some foreign pieces that are part of my Han Solo focus, but that’s it. I have done it relatively quickly through some hustle, networking and very little off eBay. All in all, I havecomeout of pocket to the tune of around 55% oftheactual current market value of my collection through a lot of buying in bulk (large collection purchases, etc.) and selling off pieces that don’t fit my focus for againin an effort to subsidize my collection, and buying items that are otherwise way belowtheiractual market value. But of course I have also laid out a lotofmy own money, and importantly it was all through extra savings and other money that my family doesn’t necessarily need and likely won’t miss.

VSWC: Yeah I remember the huge haul you scored where you had to cross the border into Canada. How did this deal come about?

Ross: Great that you rememberthathaul. That was one of four large purchases like the ones I described above that have allowed me to finance my collection. The seller was getting rid of his whole collection of Canadian and US carded figures (41 in all),MIB vehiclesandplaysets (35-40 of those) and lots of other memorabilia. He posted them all for sale at once on the big SW vintage Facebook group.Unlikeall of the vultures that gave him lowball offers and ridiculed him, I was nice to him, gave a reasonable offer, and since he lived an hour or so drive from, offered to come with cash in hand and pick the stuff up so he didn’t have to deal with shipping it all. We corresponded for a few days and agreed on a price. Needless to say from the pic, it was a ton of stuff, and I sold off enough within a few days to get my money back (and then some) and keep, free of charge, among other things, a Canadian 20 backSWBobaFett (ended up grading AFA 80), Canadian 12 Back VinylCapeJawa (I believe only two others are out there, and I have since traded it toaJawa focus collector), ESB 45backBobaFett, several other MOC figures, afewMIB items, and various other odds and ends. It was the deal of a lifetime for sure.

You should have seen the face of the US border patrol officer when I drove to the US border with a car filled with vintage SW collectibles!!!!! He thought I was INSANE!!!!

VSWC: The famous ‘thumbs up’ photo of Ross and his plastic contraband.

14. One last question before we get to your group. Carl you have been pretty vocal about reproductions recently, particularly repro boxes. Do you think this is one of the greatest threat to this awesome hobby of ours?

Carl: I don’t like reproductions. I despise them !!! Definitely going to affect the hobby in time, not so much the older collectors who can spot the signs, colour etc, but some of the newer and less educated collectors coming in could get stung. Some of these boxes that are being reproduced are superb, with just a small tab with reproduction written on them, that is NOT enough. These could easily be cut off so no one would know they are fake. Give some of these repro boxes 4-5 years of getting a bit of wearand tear and it will be very hard to spot. It wouldn’t be so bad if from the front it looked like the original, for display, but on the back it had ‘REPRODUCTION’ written in big letters or a totally different colour to the original. That way there would be no way of cutting that off or of anyone getting scammed. This is just my view, but I’d rather save up a bit more and get the original in not so perfect condition than these cheap fakes that are flooding the market …. This one does make my blood boil ……

15. So to your group now. Gaz can you briefly summarise what it’s all about?

Gaz: Our groups focus is from the first film Star Wars, which is by far the best film ever released (my view!). We see the group as a place to gather collecting knowledge, to help others spot fakes etc and as a forum to display all of these amazing collectibles.

It’s also a place to have a good chit chat and laugh between us all while discussing SW (we are all on the same wave length). As soon as I mention SW in my house everyone’s ears shut down and I end put talking to myself!

VSWC: So why did you choose to focus on these particular parameters?

Gaz: It was all Carl’s idea. I met him through the main vintage SW Facebook page and we got talking though there, then I received a message from him asking if I’d like to start a SW page just dedicated to the 12/20/21 backs and the early stuff (mailers etc) and as I said, Star Wars was by far the best film out of the three, so I thought why not 🙂

So I’d just like to thank Carl for involving me, cheers bro 🙂

17. Gaz do you all have specific roles within the functioning of the group?

Gaz: Not really. If there’s any decisions to be made we just have a three way vote, well four now as Jeff’s on board 🙂

But we all tend to agree and it generally runs fine. Ross is the one who mainly writes the important posts up (clever lad as) he’s very good at wording things. My spelling and wording of things is terrible which is why I’m the last to respond to this interview. Carl and Ross said it was a breeze, yeah right I wish!

VSWC: Haha no worries Gaz! It generally takes a while for people to get back to me with their answers. I’m just stoked that people are willing to give up their time to the blog.

18. Ross, I might be a bit biased but to me the group seems to run much smoother than a lot of similar groups on Facebook. It really is a tight ship. Why do you think that is?

Ross: Facebook is kind of the wild west of SW collecting. It is certainly instantly gratifying when compared with some of the chat forums like RS and SWFUK, but there is so much less respect paid from one collector to another on Facebook, and zero moderation on most of the groups. Once Carl proposed the group to Garry and I, we discussed a few light rules that we had seen on RS that worked there and could provide a little organization to our group and encourage people to respect one another. The three of us (now four, with the addition of Steve Dwyer as an admin).

So how many members do you have now? Is the sky the limit in regards to membership?

Ross: As of today, we have just around 3,500 members. When Carl first proposed doing the group, I thought maybe it would be cool if we could get our friends from the forums and a few other random members together and some day have 500 or so members that enjoyed the early vintage as much as we do. It blows my mind that just over seven months later we already have 3,500.

As far as whether the sky is the limit, you always want to have more members naturally as it is more people to connect with, more interesting posts that will be made, and just better content. However, I have no desire to get so big that we have internet “trolling,” off topic posts, and disrespectful members running rampant. This group, in my mind, was always supposed to be a bunch of like minded collectors in a niche group. I hope we never lose that.

19. Carl there seems to be a recent flood of niche vintage collecting groups on Facebook. Do you think there are too many?

Carl: I really enjoy these niche groups but I am biased, if your focus is ANH, ESB, ROTJ, POTF , pre production, Lili Ledy etc there is a group for you out there. Plus the multiple general Star Wars pages, I don’t think there are too many but saying that, I turn notifications off on a lot of them, and just read the three or four I want to 🙂

VSWC: So what are your favourite groups then?

Carl: Of course my favourite page is the 12/21 back page without a doubt 🙂 I also enjoy checking out Echo base UK and Empire/ ROTJ pages. I’m also fascinated by the pre production pages, to see where all the toys we collect started and the different stages. There is so much to learn from that page . Matt (Matthieu Barthelemy) also does a great job on his La Guerre Des Etoiles page. I love seeing the Meccano and other designs for the foreign cardbacks.

21. What other niches are yet to be filled?

Carl: What other niche groups? Ask Ross lol! He will probably be helping with them!

VSWC: Haha you’re right! I should have asked Ross that one. I do like to call him the ‘King of the internet.’

22. So with you guys being so active on Facebook, do you still have much time for the forums?

Ross: I certainly have less time for RS as I used to, but I make an effort to go on there still as much as I can, and still would say I am active. It is still in my view the best place for information, and has the best classified section. It is well run and organized, and is an overall great site. As I said in my first RS post about the 12 back group, I think RS is the steak of the SW forums, and our niche 12 back and early vintage group is the red wine that compliments the steak.

Carl: Unfortunately I don’t really have the time for forums, with the two pages I help run plus everything else. Lisa would definitely not be with me if I spent anymore time on Star Wars than I already do 🙂 I look on RS and SWFUK and TIG when I can, as there’s so much information stored on these pages, but it’s more limited than I would like.

Gaz: I always like to log onto RS and SWFUK and have a quick look, although I use RS mainly for WTB threads for the bits I’m after which usually works.

VSWC: So what would you guys say is your favourite forum?

Ross: RS, hands down. In fairness to the others, I haven’t spent much time on SWFUK and TIG other than on SWFUK when the Toy Toni stuff came out and TIG to confirm my weapons’ authenticity.

Carl: My favourite forum, I guess, it’s got to be RS nowadays followed closely by SWFUK.

Gaz: RS.

24. On to my final question, which is – to grade or not to grade?

Ross: For me it is a mixed bag. For my MOC figures, while I rarely buy an already graded figure (because, among other things, they are almost always too expensive), I buy near mint to mint pieces and almost always have them graded. I like the look and protection of the figure and card in acrylic, and the costs of the graded piece is really just another $30 or so more than it would be for the acrylic case itself. And the sad fact remains that if that grading turns out to produce an AFA 80 or 85, it results in an increase in the value of that figure in the market place, so it is money well spent in my view. I also like the ability to track my pieces by serial number, and have seen the AFA serial number come into play and be helpful in stopping thieves and scammers.

Carl: In my collection I have both graded and ungraded pieces , I have nothing against the grading , it protects the pieces and I love how they look. Luckily for me I bought most of mine before the prices really shot up and if I was collecting all the 12/20 backs now I would definitely be buying ungraded.

I think, like everything, AFA has its good points and bad points. Bad being: inconsistency with grades and u grading (well don’t get me started on that). It’s a shame prices go so high after grading but I guess for some it’s worth the price just to know what they’re getting and that their piece is authentic. So for me to grade or not to grade – I’m both ……

Gaz: I’m easy as most of my 12 backs are graded except for a couple, my other nine of the 21 backs are mainly ungraded (three are graded) but they are all displayed in AFA style cases as they display better and protected. I’ll probably be getting them graded when I get around to it.

Well thanks so much for your time guys and keep up the great work with the group. I definitely feel that I know you all better after that and I hope our audience feels the same way. I’m sure we will catch up sometime, somewhere for a beer.